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Live vs. Online Poker Tournament

Playing live poker is a lot different from playing online poker. The main difference is that live poker is more mentally exhausting. It would require much endurance and stamina since players would need to stay in one table for long hours, playing with the same people and seeing only few hands per hour.

In live vs. online tournament, pacing differs a lot. Live tournament is a lot slower since a player can only play one table at a time. This means seeing much less hands in a span of one hour. Online players who are not used to this pace are at a disadvantage since there is a tendency to play poorly because of boredom. To avoid this, players should focus on their opponents at the table. The extra time should be used to get to know the strategy and style of their opponents.

Another major difference in live vs. online tournament is that live poker players value tournament life more than online gamers. Live players are generally more careful in making bluffs to lessen their risk of getting eliminated from the game. This is because live poker takes more time to play so players get to invest much more time in each game. They do not want to throw away the time they have invested when they get busted and eliminated. Online players, on the other hand, can tolerate higher risks for a chance of getting higher rewards because they can afford to play in several tournaments in a day. When they get busted for bluffing, there is always another game they could get on.

In live vs. online tournament, live poker players have an advantage over those who are used to online gaming when it comes to reading their opponents' faces. Live players are more adept in maintaining "poker face" while online players may not always be aware of facial expressions and actions they make on the poker table. Thus, online players are generally giving off more physical tells.